Fracking plans are driving an even more damaging ideological agenda

The UK's insistence on opening up the UK to fracking is symptomatic of a deeper malaise, writes Paul Mobbs. Of course we need a change of government, but more than that, we need a deeper, enduring change of the nation's governance if we are ever to effect the transition to sustainable policies on energy and environment. It's time for the UK to become truly democratic.

Fracking is an unwarranted policy. But the ideological objectives behind these policies is far more significant than the process itself. The reality is that we cannot address one without addressing the other.

After more than five years of delay, relaunches and circuitous consultations, the Department of Energy and Climate Change's 14th Landward Licensing Round concluded last Thursday.

DECC's Oil and Gas Authority awarded the final 132 exploration and production licences; overall none of the 159 licences applied for were refused.

Arguably though, this announcement was a cynical act of misdirection. The announcement of a further 132 drilling licences was bound to capture the headlines.

Anyone who has been closely involved with government and regulatory procedures knows that three times a year - before Christmas, Easter and the Summer holidays - the most controversial development and policy proposals are announced.

This Christmas though the Government went far, far further than before. Last Thursday they releasing a trove of studies, statistics and announcements, some of which had been kept hidden for many months - over 400 separate policy announcements.

And you can bet that by 5th January, when politicians and pundits return to work with their festive hangovers, many of those controversial announcements will be allowed to pass without comment.

Why the pressure? We sell a lot of armaments and other related engineering to the Saudis and other Middle Eastern states with a dislike of the Muslim Brotherhood.

That dependence on 'selling death' was further highlighted by the simultaneous announcement that the Government would continue to fund a British armaments industry stand at a number of global arms trade fairs in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Indonesia, Chile, Malaysia and India.

Of course while one state's democrat is another's terrorist, this event confirms that the Government has taken the side of a dictatorial regime in a regional conflict - and is doing so purely for short-term economic interests rather than seeking a longer-term settlement of the various conflicts in that region.

Another story to emerge last Thursday was the fault in an on-line form which resulted in courts wrongly awarding assets in divorce cases. Rather like the fracking licences, that was the 'positive' story played-up to avoid other, more troubling announcements about the justice system.

What was announced last Thursday, in addition to raising a variety of court charges by 10% or more, was new evidence that the Government's recent reforms to our courts are having a chilling effect on justice.

A new study for the Ministry of Justice found that, with the withdrawal of legal aid for most cases, people taking part in the justice system felt increasingly lost - unable to understand the process, nor where they could get help to take part in the proceedings.

Another survey of not-for-profitlegal advice providers found that most were experiencing difficulties with funding, many were shrinking the level of support given to the public, and 10% said they might close completely in the near future.

Other policy injustices were also obliterated in the shadow of more 'positive' announcements.

What was given less coverage were the new statistics showing the greater problem of homelessness, which has consistently increased for the last few years. Not only the rough sleepers who are visible on the streets, but also the hidden problem of people in temporary local authority accommodation.

More significantly, new statistics released on Thursday showed that the Government's bedroom tax had has little effect in encouraging people to move house, or let spare rooms. Instead it continues to penalise many people by removing their benefits.

More bad news for the environment

Other announcements were outrageous, and should have been front-page headlines.

Certain politicians might call protesters 'NIMBYs'. In response we should call them 'NIMTOOs' as their response to critical environmental problems is, "Not In My Term Of Office".

They are clearly willing to break the law instead of taking action to save lives - far more lives in fact than are endangered by terrorism in Britain, on which they appear to be willing to spend billions.

Persecuting badgers, and routine animal cruelties

Last Thursday though, in terms of your future health and well-being, the worse thing to be in Britain was a badger.

Given the more reasonable costs of the Government's trial vaccination programme, a report on which was released at the same time (without redacted data), it is arguable that the Government are providing an unjustifiable subsidy to the beef and dairy industry.

OK then, bad news if you're a badger - though it's not much better if you're a farm animal. Just as Britain is shifting towards even more intensive forms of animal husbandry the Government has decided that the legislative burdens on the industry are too great.

On balance, however, these were not the most significant announcements on this issue. We knew the fracking licences were coming - and the industry's strategy has been apparent for a while.

What the licence issue masked was the announcement of new regulatory standards - known as the 'Regulatory Roadmap'. Back in 2013, when these standard were first promoted, we were told that regulation would be "gold-plated".

Now it seems the plating has become rather tarnished by these new vague standards. Weakened by changes in planning and environmental law in the interim, they no longer provide the regulatory protection and guarantee of local accountability they did two years ago.

This allows for further well drilling for monitoring boreholes around well sites, and for seismic surveys, without requiring the hurdle of a separate planning application - and its associated requirement for public consultation. This again raises the level of environmental intrusion permitted by Government policy without local regulation and accountability.

Pledge to take action

'Fracking' might be a bad policy, but what makes such bad decisions possible are the standards of conduct within political system itself - and its currently low regard for the public's wishes.

Contrary to their repeated assertions, the Government do not have a popular mandate for radical change. They received just 37% of the vote on a 66% turnout in May's election - meaning that only a quarter of eligible voters actually voted Conservative.

Shortly after the 132 licences were announced last week a new on-line petition, #PledgeNVDA, began on Change.org. The petition asks people to pledge to take non-violent direct action against fracking.

I urge people to participate in this initiative - to take personal responsibility for the irresponsible governance of our country by signing the pledge, and take action against these demonstrably wrong decisions.

However, I would ask that you don't just target unconventional oil and gas companies. We must also act against those who are the primary enablers of this process: The Cabinet, and the minsters of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Fracking represents a 'crisis of governance'

It would appear that under the Government's current vision of executive power, any opposition, however factually well-founded, appears to be considered a threat.

More than that, our leading politicians are quite openly planning to run their extreme, ideologically driven vision for change for years to come - and are engineering our political system to enable that.

Any opposition to their greater political project is being systemically crushed - the most recent example being the House of Lords, the 'reform' of which was also announced last week.

Are recent events also a sign of a generally dictatorial, Putin-esque stance against citizens groups who oppose Government policy?

More disturbingly, the dismissal of European court judgements that conflict with national policy objectives, recently enacted in Russia, appears to be modelled on a proposal by David Cameron back in January 2012.

Fracking is, based on the available evidence, an unwarranted policy. But the ideological objectives behind these policies is far more significant than the process itself. The reality is that we cannot address one without addressing the other.

We need not a change of government, but a change of governance in order to move towards a more sustainable policy framework on energy and the environment.

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